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IPFW Dean Emeritus Appointed President of Higher Education Agency in Greece

For Immediate Release
October 10, 2012

IPFW Dean Emeritus Appointed President of Higher Education Agency in Greece

Key Info

Van Coufoudakis, dean emeritus of IPFW’s College of Arts and Sciences, accepts position in Greece

President of the Council of the Hellenic Quality Assessment Agency

Will oversee evaluation of higher education institutions in Greece and report to Minister of Education

Van Coufoudakis, dean emeritus of the College of Arts and Sciences and president of the Council of the Hellenic Quality Assessment Agency (HQAA) in Athens, GreecePrint-quality image

FORT WAYNE, Ind.—Van Coufoudakis, dean emeritus of the College of Arts and Sciences at Indiana University–Purdue University Fort Wayne (IPFW), begins work this week as the new president of the Council of the Hellenic Quality Assessment Agency (HQAA) in Athens, Greece. Coufoudakis, who retired as dean in 2002 after more than 30 years at IPFW, was confirmed for this new post late last month.

According to Coufoudakis, “I accepted the offer of the Greek Minister of Education to head an independent agency created in 2005 to oversee the evaluation of all university and technical colleges (equivalent of the Ivy Tech system) and provide recommendations about revamping the Greek higher education system. The latter is a very controversial and highly politicized issue.”

His email to former IPFW colleagues continued, “I had known the Minister since his Ph.D. days at American University in Washington, D.C, and he had followed my career. On September 20, I went through a confirmation hearing by the Committee on Cultural Affairs of the Greek Parliament, a tumultuous affair that lasted 3 1/2 hrs. The new leftist main opposition party opposed my nomination; however, I came through with more than a 2/3 of the vote.”

Coufoudakis said he is looking forward to the challenges ahead of him, even though, “Unfortunately the agency is in total disarray. I have to appoint a brand-new governing council, get the specialized staff back, and so forth and so on, all before we start the actual work of the agency.”

For more information, contact Carl Drummond, dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, at 260-481-5750 or drummond@ipfw.edu.